


Expendable

by ducky



Category: Ant-Man (Movies), Marvel Cinematic Universe
Genre: Character Study, Gen
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-12-29
Updated: 2017-12-29
Packaged: 2019-02-23 10:44:55
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,130
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/13188438
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/ducky/pseuds/ducky
Summary: Scott was left to wonder why he had to be trained in the first place, when Hope was perfectly capable.





	Expendable

**Author's Note:**

> It seems, that whenever I am in a melancholy mood, I keep writing character studies.

 

**_Expendable._ **

 

 

When Pym first told him of the Cross job, and explained why he was the perfect man for the job, he thought it was simply his one last heist-- that he was scouted particularly for what he thinks are his best qualities: his thieving skills and his morals.

 

The more he trained with and got to know the dysfunctional father-daughter duo of Hank and Hope, the more he began to gain some insight to why he was there in the first place.

 

Scott admits he acted a little patronizingly at Hope (' _I was in prison for three years, I know how to punch._ '), and immediately got knocked out his senses quite literally, once Hope proved that she wasn't to be messed with.

 

So Scott was left to wonder why he had to be trained in the first place, when Hope _was perfectly capable._

 

Surely, Hank knew this-- he was her father after all.

 

It wasn't until Hank blew his top off and Hope walked out, almost quitting the operation, that Scott realized what was going on.

 

The more Scott talked to Hank, the more he realizes how alike they are: they were both fathers. Fathers trying to do right by their daughters.

 

Where they thought they were being valiant and protecting Hope, in hindsight, Scott thought, they were men robbing Hope off her right to decide her role in this operation. Unlike Cassie, who was young and definitely needed protection (from what, Scott didn't quite have the idea, but thought it meant _generally_ ), and who looked to her father for a role model (despite having an _upstanding_ stepfather in Paxton); Hope was old and independent enough to make her decisions for herself, without the need for Hank's approval.

 

He knew, however, that Hank was _**never**_ budging from his stance that Scott should suit up instead of her for this crucial mission.

 

Hank had been going on and on about Scott needing to prove himself to his daughter, and while Scott thought he had to shape up, pull himself by the bootstraps and live an honest life and provide for Cassie, he forgot one thing: _Cassie already thought the world of him._

 

True, Maggie may have been hiding certain truths about Scott from his daughter-- that he was a criminal, that he was in jail, that Mommy simply can't be with Daddy anymore because Daddy was a right big mess and Mommy didn't want Cassie to get in Daddy's right big mess, but all of this was what Maggie and Paxton and other adults (Scott included) thought, not Cassie.

 

To Cassie, her Daddy was her hero. Even if he was mostly absent. Cassie would greet him with that smile and be the happiest little girl in the world whenever he was around. Then he thought of what Hank said, about Hope, about how she used to look at him like he was the greatest man in the world.

 

Hank was a very secretive man: Scott wasn't even sure he accurately explained how Pym Particles worked to him (Scott thought he may look like an idiot, but he _knew_ changing the distance between atoms couldn't possibly explain everything about the effects of the Particles), but he can pick up some **_other_** unspoken details about the elderly scientist.

 

I mean, when you're moonlighting as a thief, observing people kind of becomes a required skillset.

 

In his observation, Scott realized the difference between him and Cassie and Hank and Hope boiled down to the fact that he was willing to do whatever it takes to be with Cassie, his own failures nonwithstanding. Hank had been hurt (he assumed it had something to do with Hope's mother, given Hope's last snide comment at him regarding this issue), and, if he had to guess, resorted to excluding her in everything. Like what he did earlier. Because of fear.

 

At least that's what he thinks.

 

When Hope later told him Hank was shutting her out, he went a little defensive-- a tiny mistake, as Scott momentarily projected himself onto Hank's frustrations. Hope gave him a quirked brow as if to ask, ' _Do you really believe what you just said?_ ', which caused Scott to buckle, lamely trying to save by saying that it was proof Hank _ **loved her**_.

 

He was partly right, of course. Hope just couldn't seem to believe that, and she had good reasons to-- Hank was grieving back then, but he didn't realize that Hope was young and needed his comfort the most.

 

And what did Hank do? Keep Hope away.

 

_**Weren't they all a mess?** _

 

Hank, who had closed himself off, had become obsessed with his work. Scott could tell he was suffering, hiding some terrible secret, causing him to neglect his own daughter.

 

Hope, who had been emotionally abandoned, neglected. In a way, it made her strong as a result, years of her father being distant made her want to prove herself. To excel in every aspect. Though she seems perfectly fine, inside are wounds that needed healing, decades of bitterness between her and her father that wouldn't simply go away. Deep inside, she may have wanted them to be on good terms again, even if years of experience taught her not to expect reconciliation.

 

And him. Scott. The man who didn't know what to do, the man who was just taking a chance to see his daughter again, to provide for her. The man who, admittedly, wants the easy way out-- because it had been so long and he had fears of his own.

 

And this mission brought them together, a cocktail party of parental fears, old wounds, and insecurities.

 

Hank was afraid of letting Hope wear the suit because what they were doing was dangerous. Scott, on the other hand, feared-- and he wouldn't admit it (not now, at least, not when they're supposed to focus on the mission)-- that one day, he'll **_just be as expendable to Cassie as he is in this mission_**. He took this job because he needed Hank to fix him up, he needed the money, he needed to pay child support. And he needed it now, because his irrational mind is telling him-- Cassie has everything she needs, and soon _**she won't need you anymore.**_

 

Seeing Hope and Hank reconcile made it the real reason he was chosen for this mission very clear.

 

Because if they failed, Hope was _too important for Hank to lose_.

 

Because if they failed, Hank and Hope _couldn't suffer another loss again_.

 

Because if they failed, Hank and Hope _needed a fall guy, someone with a believable background of  pulling off a corporate-level heist._

 

Because if they failed, Hank and Hope _needed someone who was willing to do anything and had nothing to lose_.

 

And that was Scott.

 

_**Expendable.** _

 


End file.
